Winemaker Notes
Peter Sisseck bought the old Camborio Fino solera and 4 hectare in Balbaina to produce his fino. When he took over he ran the scales and topped up with wine from Valdespino. The capataz too is from Valdespino. 2022 was warm and dry in Jerez, and the usual Spring flor bloom started and ended earlier than normal. Peter took advantage of this pattern to aim for an old-school, Fino Amontillado style. He bottled a little later than previous years, and the resulting wine is a little nuttier and more powerful. The palate is richer and the color darker, and this is a classic style for pairing with tapas.
Salty anchovies, cured olives, a slice of tortillas, salted almonds, or tangy Manchego would all be great pairings.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The NV Fino Viña Corrales Pago Balbaína bottled in May 2022 shows different from the 2021 bottling, as the wine is influenced by the dry year and has more smokiness, flintstone and yeasty aromas. This is round and lush, with a buttery sensation in the texture and the textbook notes of esparto grass and wet chalk. The finish is bone-dry, tasty and almost salty. They are also adding the wine from Viña Corrales in Balbaína. I also sampled the wine from the solera as it is now, and it's impressive how the wine seems to have changed in one year and how the influence of the different yeasts is noticeable on the nose, with the influence of the Beticus yeasts in the smokiness.
Sherry is a fortified wine that comes in many styles from dry to sweet. True Sherry can only be made in Andalucía, Spain where the soil and unique seasonal changes give a particular character to its wines. The process of production—not really the grape—determine the type, though certain types are reserved for certain grapes. Palomino is responsible for most dry styles; Pedro Ximénez and Muscat of Alexandria are used for blending or for sweet styles.
Known more formally as Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez is a city in Andalucía in southwest Spain and the center of the Jerez region and sherry production. Sherry is a mere English corruption of the term Jerez, while in French, Jerez is written, Xérès. Manzanilla is the freshest style of sherry, naturally derived from the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda.